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Reaching Potential

UK Deaf Sport aims to enable Deaf people to reach their full potential in sport. We work to increase opportunities by working in partnerships with key organisations to create a sporting future that is DEAFinitely Inclusive from grassroots through to Elite level Sport.

Jacqui Traynor

Director and UK Deaf Sport General Secretary

Over the last decade I have been fortunate to work in a range of fields stemming from fitness and movement, and then more deeply in sport. This experience has provided me with the ability to view areas with a wide angled lens to appreciate and understand how we can improve the way we do things in sport, whilst working to achieve a common aim.

I have been working for British Rowing for the past 4 and 1/2 years, initially in education and training, and then anti-doping and integrity, and through my roles my interest and knowledge in compliance and governance has grown. Now it is being further supplemented by studies in Sports Law with De Montfort University.

Inclusivity, diversity and participation in sport is something I am enthusiastic about and have put myself forward beyond my role, to support adaptive rowing, and more specifically support the process for classifications.

Being Deaf and having volunteered with UK Deaf Sport on the performance committee and now as General Secretary I have much to offer to the Board. I am looking forward to the challenges we are presented with going forward.

Lara Lill

Senior Independent Director

Lara Lill is a leading expert in health, wellbeing and physical activity. She is a respected senior manager with extensive experience in building effective partnerships. Lara trained as a secondary school PE teacher at Liverpool University, she taught for a while in the North East before being appointed to the Amateur Swimming Association. Lara is Head of Health and Wellbeing, responsible for developing strategy and building influential partnerships to improve the quality of life for people with health conditions and contribute to the public health of the population. Lara is also a member of the European Women and Sport Board responsible for promoting leadership and gender equality for women in sport. Lara is delighted to be appointed as a trustee to UK Deaf Sport.

Job Description

Peter Fitton

Director

A senior media and entertainment executive with experience commercialising content in global, regional and local roles, Peter was most recently General Manager Benelux for The Walt Disney Company overseeing content distribution, consumer marketing, product licensing and television channels. He founded and led Disney Media+ EMEA, the company’s integrated marketing promotions division, and has driven business launches in the UK, NL, USA, France, Spain, Australia, Russia and India. Peter is now consulting for a range of content and entertainment businesses.

Andy Mawdsley

Director

Andy has been involved in education and coaching for over 25 years, and most recently as an Executive Headteacher across two Primary Schools in North West Leicestershire. He has a Degree and Masters Degree in Physical Education and Sports Science from Loughborough University and has enjoyed competing in a variety of sports including Athletics, Cross Country and Triathlon. He is the father of two boys, the eldest of which was born deaf and has recently received bilateral cochlear implants. Andy is passionate about ensuring all deaf young people and adults can access and enjoy all the benefits of participation in sport and physical activity.

Gareth Hunt

Director

Gareth Hunt is Head of Corporate Broking at KBW, the specialist investment bank focused on financial services providers. Prior to joining KBW. Gareth was an equity research analyst covering UK banking shares. Prior to working in the City. Gareth studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. He is married with two children and is a keen marathon runner.

Brendan Foley

Director

Brendan Foley has an international background working in corporate world and in public sectors, across many cross borders. In the Arab world, UK, Europe, work with Royal Families, and with several members of the House of Lords, plus the Vatican as well. In Ireland Brendan had a close relationship with the former head at the Department of the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) head of the civil services. In the corporate world he has work with a number of billionaires around the world on many ventures, the founder of the Élan Corporation and Le Mans World Car Series in USA, as one example. He funded a seven million pound entry in the Whitbread Round the world race, he has found funding for public and private ventures in the market place, and he is the CEO of the Aeolus platform.

Craig Crowley MBE

Honourary President

Appointed as Honorary President in April 2014, Craig is Chief Executive of Action Deafness, a national voluntary organisation based in Leicester, East Midlands. He is first Deaflympic medalist to have served as President of the International Committee of Sport for the Deaf (Deaflympics) 2009-2013. A qualified sports coach and key strategist, Craig was also instrumental in co-founding UK Deaf Sport in 2003 and served as its Chair until 2009. A keen advocate of visibility and recognition of Deaf athletes, Craig is also heading a team of international Associates at Efficere Sports International. He was awarded an MBE for services to sport at The Queen’s 80th Birthday Honours in 2006.

Philip Gerrard

Honourary Vice President

Philip is Chief Executive within the third sector, with over 20 years experience. He currently heads up Deaf Direct, overseeing all strategic and operational work of this charitable company with a turnover of £800k. As one of the founding members of UKDS, he has served as a trustee since its inception in 2003, being Vice Chair and Chair of UKDS. Philip has represented Great Britain Deaf Sport on the global platform, attending every international deaf sport congress since 2005, he has lead GB Deaflympics teams competing at Deaflympics, and has been a member of European Deaf Sport Organisation Legal Commission Group since it was set up in 2011. He has served on various local and national committees including the national complaints panel for BSL/English Interpreters. Philip joined Midland Deaf Sport Association Committee as Secretary in 1990 and remains so. He is an active member of his local community, playing football regularly with a Deaf team and supporting his deaf sons’ sporting endeavours. He is passionate about access to opportunities in sport, and particularly keen to see that the elite deaf athletes receives the recognition they deserves, on a par with the Olympics and Paralympics.

Vincent Dickson

Honourary Vice President

Vincent was born Hearing until an illness of meningitis at the age of 5 years caused his profound deafness. He has been involved in Deaf Sport for over 60 years. Starting as the Football Secretary of Manchester Deaf Club in the 1950/60’s moving to become the Indoor Games Convenor for Southern Deaf Sports Association in1983 where he served for approximately 10 years. During this time the association remained unbeaten in the Regional Indoor Games Championships for 5 years, Vincent was part of the British Deaf Sports Council’s Financial & General Purpose committee and later became a Trustee. He undertook further positions with hearing swimming Club before take over the role of

Graeme Knight

Director

Graeme has spent over 15 years practising law as a barrister in the UK. He is an accomplished negotiator and advocate representing individuals in the civil and criminal courts for a broad range of proceedings. During the early part of his career he was instructed to challenge human rights violations under the European Convention. Nowadays his work includes disciplinary hearings before sports and other professional tribunals, advising on regulatory law and appearances in the criminal courts and Court of Appeal. Graeme is also a CEDR accredited commercial mediator and an advocacy trainer at the Middle Temple Inn of Court. As the son of a professional cricketer, Graeme has been actively involved in sport his whole life. He played rugby for Wasps RFC and Rosslyn Park FC in his twenties and regular cricket for a number of Kent clubs since leaving school. These days he enjoys playing a competitive standard of tennis and golf.

Piers Martin

Executive Chair

Piers Martin is a strategic high performance specialist working across sport, business and academia. He is currently The Managing Director of the Podium Performance Group, a consultancy that supports organisations, teams and individuals to develop optimised performance. He is also the founder of GuruBox, a video coaching platform that shares ideas and experience in less than a minute, and co-founder of the Sports Influencers (SP.IN) sports business network.

For over 20 years, Piers has led and advised a range of Olympic and Paralympic sports, supported businesses from small start-ups to larger, established companies and helped individuals to ‘find their podium’. Piers is a Director/Trustee on several Boards and Performance Advisor to various sports and performance programmes. He is also a member of the Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators for Sports Resolutions UK and the Institute of Directors (IoD) Cheshire Committee. Piers has a Masters degree and an MBA from Manchester University and is undertaking a PhD in Psychology. He is a keynote speaker and guest lecturer in a range of institutions and sits on the Sports Advisory Board of Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

Tom Seabrook

Director

Tom is a dual qualified chartered surveyor and solicitor, practising as the latter and specialising in property advisory and disputes work.

Tom was a keen a reasonably able sportsman in his youth particularly enjoying rowing, athletics and rugby. He is late deafened, having first noticed his hearing loss in his early 20’s. This progressive loss meant that Tom had to give up most competitive sport before his time (he assures us he would have been an Olympian given a few more years).

Tom received a cochlear implant in 2014 which he describes as life changing.

He has a passion for sport particularly at grass roots and junior level and is a qualified rugby union coach and referee.

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